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Pak under pressure at FATF to rein in terror: Doval

ajit doval
Ajit Doval, National Security Advisor (NSA)

New Delhi (NVI): National Security Advisor (NSA), Ajit Doval has said Pakistan is under a lot of pressure at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to rein in terror groups operating from its soil. The meeting of FATF, which is an inter-governmental body to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system, is currently underway in Paris. He said the biggest pressure on Pakistan comes from the functionaries of the FATF.  

Doval was addressing the National Investigation Agency’s national conference of Chiefs of Anti-Terrorism Squad and Special Task Force here recently. He said, no country can afford to go for a war in the present context as the financial and human costs are huge. The NSA added that  Pakistan has been using terrorism as the instrument of state policy and everyone knows the neighbouring country supports and finances terror.

He said, terrorism is a low-cost sustainable option which bleeds the enemy more than war. Speaking on the occasion, NIA IG Alok Mittal said, there have been continuous efforts from across the border to revive terror activities in Punjab.

The inaugural session was attended by DGs & other senior officers of CAPFs, CPOs, other central agencies and State/UT police.

-sb

India launches host of schemes to mark World Food Day

WORLD FOOD DAY
World Food Day

New Delhi (NVI): India joined the global community in observing World Food Day on October 16 with Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan launching a host of Schemes to mark the occasion. Consumer Affairs,Food and Public Distribution Minister Ram Vilas Paswan also expressed commitment for a complete and nutritious diet for every Indian.

eat right india

Dr  Vardhan launched ‘Food Safety Mitra (FSM)’ scheme along with  ‘Eat Right Jacket’, and ‘Eat Right Jhola’. The FSM will support small and medium scale food businesses to comply with the food safety laws, the ‘Eat Right Jacket’, and ‘Eat Right Jhola’ will strengthen food safety administration.

On the occasion, the Paswan tweeted “Hearty congratulations and best wishes to all of you on World Food Day. It is our first duty to ensure a complete and nutritious diet to every citizen of the society. We are committed to this. There is a bigger challenge than the system of food grains all over the world, preventing its waste.”

“Today, due to the tireless hard work of our crores of farmer brothers, the country is self-sufficient in the matter of food grains. The government is providing cheap food grains to 82 crore beneficiaries. The destruction of one grain of grain is not only an insult to crores of farmers but is also a social crime.” he added.

Dr Vardhan emphasized that the Eat Right India movement is a crucial trigger for the much needed social and behavioural change. This campaign along with the ‘Fit India’ Movement’ can achieve huge success if the right strategy is adopted and efforts are made to reach out to every section of the society.

World Food Day is celebrated every year around the world in honour of the date of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1945. This day generates awareness globally for those who suffer from hunger and to ensure the need for food security and nutritious diets for all. The main focus of this day is that food is a basic and fundamental human right.

This year the theme of World Food Day 2019 is not only focused on Zero Hunger but is also about nourishing people, while nurturing the planet. The theme is ‘Our Actions Are Our Future Healthy Diets for A #ZeroHunger World’. According to FAO, ‘This year, World Food Day calls for action across sectors to make healthy and sustainable diets affordable and accessible to everyone. At the same time, it calls on everyone to start thinking about what we eat’.

 -sb/nad

PRATeK transforms Aman who now speaks of Child’s Right

Air quality in national capital plunges into ‘Very Poor’ category

New Delhi (NVI): With the onset of post-harvest season that traditionally involves stubble burning, the air quality of the national capital has yet again plunged into “Very Poor” category touching PM2.5 level. On October 15, it stood at 270. at 4 pm. The story is the same in the areas adjoining New Delhi, like Gurgaon, Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, and Faridabad.

As per System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), a government entity, deterioration in Delhi’s AQI may further accentuate from fourth week of October, indicating that the late monsoon withdrawal will have severe repercussions for air quality in North India.

According to data of the Central Pollution Control Board, Seventeen of the thirty seven air quality monitoring stations in the national capital recorded the overall AQI in the “very poor” category.

An AQI ranging from 0 to 50 is considered ‘good’; 51 to 100 is ‘satisfactory’; 101 to 200 is ‘moderate’; 201 to 300 is ‘poor’; 301 to 400 is ‘very poor’, and 401 to 500 is ‘severe’.

On October 15, Delhi Environment Minister Kailash Gehlot had written to Union Minister for Earth Sciences Dr. Harsh Vardhan, requesting access to SAFAR’s data so that the administration could take immediate corrective measures to curb pollution.

-bp/nad

J&K, Ladakh are moving on the path of development: Modi

modi in ballabhgarh
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing his first election rally in Haryana

Ballabgarh (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the J&K and Ladakh have embarked on path of development with renewed vigour ever since the abrogation of special status granted under Article 370. He was addressing his first election rally in Haryana on October 14. 

“J&K and Ladakh are fast moving on the path of development,” the prime minister said and dared the opposition on his decision to reorganise J&K. He asserted that India is now taking big decisions like on Article 370 which were unthinkable earlier. Mr Modi said the massive mandate given by the people gave him the strength to take the step. 

He challenged the Congress to show courage and declare in their manifesto that they will restore Article 370 and 35A if voted to power. 

-sb

Indian polity hails Abhijit, wife for winning Nobel Prize For Economics

NOBLE
Nobel Prize winners for Economics: Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer,

Stockholm/New Delhi (NVI): Indian polity, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has hailed Indian-American Abhijit Banerjee, his wife, Esther Duflo, and Michael Kremer of the United States for winning the 2019 Nobel Prize for Economics for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty on 14 th October in here.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had congratulated Indian-American economist Abhijit Banerjee for his contribution in alleviation of global poverty.

“Congratulations to Abhijit Banerjee on being conferred the 2019 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. He has made notable contributions in the field of poverty alleviation,” PM Modi tweeted.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, also congratulated Banerjee on Twitter.

“Congratulations Abhijit Banerjee on being awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize for your contribution for easing poverty. #JNU also wishing Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer,” she said.

58-year-old Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee was educated at the University of Calcutta, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Harvard University, where he received his PhD in 1988. He is currently the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2003 he founded the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), along with Esther Duflo and Sendhil Mullainathan, and he remains one of the lab’s directors. 

Banerjee is a past president of the Bureau for the Research in the Economic Analysis of Development, a Research Associate of the NBER, a CEPR research fellow, International Research Fellow of the Kiel Institute, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Econometric Society, and has been a Guggenheim Fellow and an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow and a winner of the Infosys Prize. 

He is the author of a large number of articles and four books, including Poor Economics which won the Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year. He is the editor of three more books and has two documentary films. He also served on the U.N. Secretary-General’s High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

The Nobel committee in a statement said the research conducted by this year’s laureates has considerably improved the ability to fight global poverty. In just two decades, their new experiment-based approach has transformed development economics, which is now a flourishing field of research.

The President, the Vice President and the Prime Minister have extended their congratulations to Abhijeet Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer on winning the Nobel Prize in Economics for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty. 

In his message, President Ram Nath Kovind said their research has helped economists better understand how to fight poverty in India and the world.

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu said he is sure that Mr Banerjee’s experimental approach to alleviating global poverty will help the world community to understand and address the formidable challenge of poverty.

-sb

Govt to uphold IPR as centrepiece of industrial growth

IPR-2
SEPC along with MIPCOM released IP guide at Cannes

Cannes/New Delhi (NVI): To boost services exports, the Government is fast moving to uphold Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) as the centrepiece of the industry’s future growth and is committed to safeguard against infringement of originality and creativity of Indian makers, said Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan on October 16.

Releasing the IP Guide at 36th MIPCOM at Cannes, the world’s largest content market, Wadhawan said, “IP is the most important asset for its creators in the media and entertainment sector.”

The Services Exports Promotion Council (SEPC) along with Ministry of Commerce & Industry has brought out the India Intellectual Property (IP) Guide at Cannes in MIPCOM 2019 for the Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry, ongoing from October 14-17. The guide features a catalogue of over 60 Indian IPs, popular in over 160 countries. It comprehensively breaks the narrative of only low-end work being done in India.

For the second consecutive year, SEPC’s India Pavilion at MIPCOM, Cannes, has enthused and attracted industry. Over 60 Indian delegates are part of the India Pavilion delegation. Over 115 Indian companies comprising over 250 delegates are at MIPCOM.

Sangeeta Godbole, Director General, SEPC informed that some of the top renowned Indian Media and Entertainment companies are present at MIPCOM.  Further Godbole added that 15 media and companies are participating for the first-time through the SEPC delegation at the India Pavilion

The Indian exhibitors and visiting companies have participated to buy, sell, serve and partner with companies present at MIPCOM from over 111 countries across the world. India Pavilion is the one-stop place to meet content creators, audio visual service providers in animation, VFX, AR/VR, gaming, new media services, film production services and much more.

One of the key objectives at SEPC is to facilitate service exporters of India and handhold medium and small enterprises to expand their global footprint and to present IPs from India to the buyers and distributors from across the globe. The IP Guide is to illustrate strengths of the Indian content creators.

In the coming months, SEPC plans to launch an online IP helpline, so that people can get feedback on IP related queries. SEPC will also be setting up a committee to help small and medium entertainment companies to navigate critical aspects of IP creation. The aim is to assist companies and content creators to maximise the value that IPs can provide.

–BP

India develops indigenous ELISA kits to fight Japanese Encephalitis

ELISA kits
ELISA kits developed to diagnose Japanese encephalitis and Bluetongue virus

New Delhi (NVI): To detect and fight back Japanese encephalitis and Bluetongue virus which are found in animals, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) along with Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Izatnagar has developed two diagnostic kits under the ‘Make in India’ initiative. 

The newly developed kits cost ten times lesser than the imported ones. As compared to the commercial kit available in the market at a price of Rs. 52,000, the ICAR-IVRI has developed kits which are available for the farmers at a minimal price of Rs. 5,000 only. 

It is the indigenous technology that will not just help save foreign exchange but also has the potential to earn foreign exchange. 

The diagnostic kits named as Bluetongue sandwich ELISA (sELISA) and the Japanese Encephalitis lgM ELISA was released by Animal Husbandry Secretary Atul Chaturvedi and T. Mahopatra DG, ICAR at Krishi Bhawan. 

Addressing the gathering, Director General Mahopatra mentioned that each kit is meant for testing around 45 samples and briefed the main characteristics of the two Kits. 

Talking about the Japanese Encephalitis (JE) ELISA Kit (IgM) for Swine, Mohapatra said, “JE is a re-emerging viral zoonotic disease leading to death of children every year in the country. It is  really helpful for assessing the active infection of JE virus in the swine population which predicts the outbreak in humans.”

Highlighting the key features of another Kit “Bluetongue: Sandwich ELISA for detection of Antigen”, Mohapatra said, “Bluetongue (BT) virus is an insect-transmitted viral disease of domestic and wild ruminants that includes the camelid species. The disease is widespread among the sheep, goats, cattle, buffaloes and camels in the country. With the help of the Kit, Bluetongue Virus can be controlled.”

“Apart from the vaccination, the early diagnosis and isolation of the infected animals are one of the commonly suggested preventive methods for controlling the spreading of the disease,” he added. 

Applauding the joint initiative by the ICAR and the Department of Animal Husbandry, Atul Chaturvedi said, “Release of these two Kits will definitely be beneficial for not only the farming community but the society as a whole.”

Citing the number of casualties caused by the deadliest diseases in the societies every year, the Secretary mentioned that the Kits will prove to be a real helping hand.

“The kits have been prepared with care. Before the official launching of the Kits, proper research was carried out by the scientists of both the organizations. The Kits were also tested against the mentioned virus and diseases caused by the animals for their validity,” said the additional Secretary Sushil Kumar. 

“Indian Veterinary Research Institute emphasized on the measures to be adopted for controlling the spread of various harmful diseases by the birds, pigs and other animals. These Kits will provide help in achieving our targets effectively and efficiently,” said R.K. Singh. 

He stressed that humans are more prone to transmittable diseases and expressed his concerns about the various cases in which the children are mostly affected by the diseases as compared to the younger or older ones.

–PS

Three LeT terrorists killed in Ananatnag encounter

jkp

Srinagar (NVI): Three Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists were killed by security forces in an encounter on the outskirts of Ananatnag district in Jammu and Kashmir on October 15.

According to police, the terrorists killed have been identified as Nasir Chadru, Aqib Hajam and Zahid Hussain and were affiliated to LeT terror organisation. They were involved in several terror activities.

Huge quantity of arms and ammunition have been recovered from the slain terrorists, police added.

On October 14, terrorists killed a civilian named Sharif Khan at village Shirmal in Shoipan.

The deceased was a truck driver and hailed from Rajasthan and was in the village for apple loading.

–RB

North East Expo to build bridges with ASEAN, BIMSTEC nations

north east expo
AIWEFA organize a curtain raiser ceremony North East Expo

New Delhi (NVI): In line with the Government’s ’Look East’ policy and for strengthening trade ties with ASEAN and BIMSTEC nations, the All India Women’s Education Fund Association (AIWEFA) organized a curtain raiser ceremony “North East Expo, 2019” on 16th October to provide platform for entrepreneurs from the Northeast region to open up trade and commerce through Tea Diplomacy and Khadi Diplomacy.

Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region, Dr Jitendra Singh while presiding over the event said that Khadi is a symbol of women’s empowerment as most of the spinners, weavers and handicraft artisans in the northeast are women. It is important to bring Khadi to the mainstream as it will help weavers, especially women, continue to create more jobs.

“In last five years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited North East over 30 times, which shows the kind of importance this government attaches with the states of the North East,” he said.

He also informed how ‘Start up India, Stand up India’ programme has led to young entrepreneurs in the North East starting their ventures by utilising the human and material resources in these states.

“The day is not far when the North East would become the start up hub of the country”, he added.

jitendar singh

During this event ‘Khadi Goes Global’ campaign has also been initiated to celebrate Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th  birth anniversary, 100 years of his association with Khadi and 91 years of AIWEFA’s service to women and communities

Talking about making ‘Khadi Go Global’, Dr. Singh put forward the vision of using latest technology in boosting the production of khadi and making it competitive globally. This would also help in generating immense employment opportunities in this sector.

The aim of the Expo to held on 2nd-3rd November is to bring together all the eight states of northeast India and create a platform with the North East Handloom, Handicrafts and the Farm Sector.

At the expo, AIWEFA will also introduce two awards—The Prime Minister’s Award for Master Weaver and the other for the Master Crafts person for the year 2018–19.

 (sb/rb)

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